Category : GMO’s

Chances are you’ve heard already, but the news is disturbing enough to make sure.

The exact same variety of GMO (genetically moified) wheat developed by Monsanto in the 1990s (the field trials were supposed to have ended years ago) was discovered to be growing in an Eastern Oregon farmer’s fields, in clear violation of US law. (Important note: The farmers who discovered the alien wheat sprayed repeatedly to kill it, but could not. They sent it to a university lab for analysis, which is how Monsanto’s concoction was discovered).

CFH warned long ago about the dangers of such experimenting. Regardless of how vehemently Monsanto asserted that protections were in place to prevent cross-pollination of farmland neighboring areas in which experiments were conducted, we questioned exactly how Monsanto would control the wind, rain, and agricultural runoff that threatened to spread the Frankenseeds. (Never mind that they would probably love to do exactly that).

Well, now Monsanto and the USDA are scrabbling to reassure consumers concerned about just how deeply into the environment this GMO wheat may have spread. Even though they assure us that the wheat is safe for human consumption, the USDA has launched a formal investigation to determine how this spread of Monsanto’s illegal wheat occurred.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world is no more confident about this than consumers are. Bloomberg News reported today that Japan has suspended imports of US-grown wheat, and the price of wheat is falling. Of additional concern according to KGW in Portland: “The discovery also could have implications for organic companies, which by law cannot use genetically engineered ingredients in foods.”

Enough is enough. This past weekend CFH stood with food activists against Monsanto’s machinations at the March Against Monsanto, and we urge you to stand with us now and take action to label GMOs. If we can’t predict when such accidents will occur as a result of genetic tampering, we can at least ensure we’re informed when GMOs are present in what we eat and drink.

Please visit our partners in this fight at JustLabelIt.org and tell Congress we’ve avoided long enough taking the steps necessary to ensure we are informed about what we feed ourselves and our families.

As I prepare to put in my garden this year, I feel a little like some whacko-zombie apocalypse fanatic. I am on a fervent mission to find non-GMO seeds and plants.

It’s not as easy as you might think since Monsanto, the father of Frankenfoods and RoundUp (what a pair!) has not only managed to protect itself against lawsuits from consumers whose health is damaged by its GMO products, it has also managed to buy up most of the seed companies and insert genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into their products.

The day is not far off when it will be impossible to buy seeds that have not been modified.

Until very recently, Monsanto had targeted corn, canola, soy and cotton, but now its gobbled up the market for the seeds you and I plant in our backyard gardens. Monsanto now owns 90 to 95 of all seed companies in the U.S. While Monsanto says it has no intention of making all seeds GMO, I can only say: If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell you.

Let’s back up a few weeks to March 29 when President Obama signed into law, which has been dubbed the Monsanto Protection Act. The bill allows Monsanto to promote and plant genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically engineered (GE) seeds and precludes the courts for litigating any cases contending the products are unsafe.

This unprecedented legal protection also gives Monsanto a green light to continue producing and expanding its market for GMO crops and seeds.

The danger now is that according to US laws, Monsanto always wins, even if its experimental crops are proven to be hazardous to human health and even if they cause a runaway crop plague. Now, the American government has given away the judicial power to prohibit the planting and harvesting GMO crops in almost any case.

Zombie apocalypse, indeed!

GMO foods have been scientifically linked to obesity, diabetes, immune system alterations and impaired ability to digest protein. malfunction. The Bt-toxin introduced by Monsanto in the 1990s to kill insects has now been found in the blood of 67 percent of all women, 93 percent of all pregnant women and 80 percent of umbilical cord blood in their babies.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. At least we, as consumers, have the right to know what we’re eating. Well-financed corporate interests helped defeat the GMO labeling amendment in California. Washington state has a labeling initiative pending. More than 60 countries now requires GMO labeling, but not the U.S. This is everyone’s fight, so I encourage you to get involved.

Back home, I’m seeking out heirloom seeds and plants for my garden. I found a good list at Garden of Eatin’ that not only give us a very short list of seed companies that have signed a non-GMO statement for their products and a much longer list of those that are either owned by Monsanto or have at least some GMO seeds.

Today’s revolution is with our pocketbooks. Don’t buy products from companies that have bought into the Monsanto lie.

This is a complex issue that I’ll be visiting and re-visiting frequently in the future. Stay tuned. Your health and mine and the health of the planet for the next seven generations depends on it.

All content is written by Kathleen Barnes and may be used freely if unedited and attributed.

It’s now officially Spring – even if your area hasn’t quite caught up yet. With Spring comes visions of picnics, BBQs and other time-tested outdoor activities…Like golf!

Are you a budding pro? A duffer? Or perhaps you couldn’t tell the difference between an iron and a wood with both hands and a flashlight?

It doesn’t matter! Mark your calendar for the Golfers Going Green two-person scramble, to be held Saturday, April 20, at Oceana Golf Club. It’s a 10 AM shotgun start and your $60 team registration includes golf, cart, food and prizes. Best of all: Proceeds will be donated to Citizens for Health!

How you can be involved:

–Compete! The limit is 60 teams, so act now – you can register by calling the Club at (231) 861-4211.

–Sponsor a tee sign! $100 gets you a professionally designed 24″x18″ full-color two-sided sign with your message. Advertise your business, an issue important to you, or say hi to friends or family. We hope this event will be an annual one, and those who sponsor signs this year will get a chance to do so again next year at half the cost. To sponsor a sign, contact organizer Jim Kueny at (231) 670-6211, or email him at golfersgoinggreen@gmail.com. Check out an example of a tee sign here.

—Get a “tee”-shirt! Let people know you support issues of sustainability by sporting this special event tee for $22 – and remember, proceeds go to CFH. Order one here. Have it waiting for you at the event, or have it sent to you if you can’t attend. Buying a shirt also earns you a free golf cart voucher for your next 9 holes at Oceana!

This is a truly “green” family event, fun and educational. Green event sponsors and vendors, recycled golf balls, issue-oriented signs throughout the course – event organizer Jim Kueny has pulled out all the stops to make this enjoyable for everyone. Easy and tough pin placements, great food and prizes – and all to support CFH’s efforts to preserve and expand your right to make informed decisions about what you feed to your families.

Committed to spreading the word about nutrition and sustainable practices, Mr. Kueny has made it his life’s work to help people eat smart and stay healthy – so “naturally” he asked us to help him get the word out and chose CFH to be the beneficiary of his efforts.

Help Jim help us – to help you! Share this with your friends who care about healthy food and urge them to get involved. If local, get them to register. If not, suggest they buy a t-shirt or sponsor a tee sign. And, of course, we hope to see you there.

For further information or questions, please contact Jim Kueny at (231) 670-6211, or email him at golfersgoinggreen@gmail.com. And check out the event page on Facebook.

Together we created a renewed nationwide movement that cannot be stopped!!!!

We put GMOs front and center on the national stage!!!!

Our coming together on this issue was a massive success, one that we can use to spread like wildfire in California and in every other state in the Union until we get a whole lot of state laws passed, or a national law, or both!!!!

A new movement has been created. Let’s take advantage of this historic convergence!!!!

Food labels and advertising must tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the food we and our children eat.

Stay tuned for more on the campaign to label GMOs and other issues of truth about food.

This month here in California, we will have a chance to know what is in our food supply. Prop 37 will require companies to label foods so we as consumers can know for certain if a product is organic or not. As a mother attempting to feed my children in the healthiest way, this seems like a no brainer. Why would it even be an issue to want to know if something is genetically modified or not?

Sunnyvale, CA – More than 50 people rallied in front of Yahoo! headquarters in Sunnyvale, California yesterday to call on Marissa Mayer and Jim Breyer, both Silicon Valley-based members of Walmart’s Board of Directors, to support Proposition 37 and to ensure that Walmart respects consumers’ right to know about genetically engineered foods.

Walmart is selling Monsanto’s genetically engineered sweet corn which contains the insecticide Bt toxin inside the corn. Proposition 37 would require the genetically engineered corn to be labeled so consumers can have a choice about whether to eat it.

“We’re asking Marissa Mayer and Jim Breyer to do the right thing for California consumers – to label Walmart’s genetically engineered sweet corn and to endorse Prop 37 because we have a right to know what is in our food,” said Joyce M Eden, San Jose Area Volunteer Coordinator with the Yes on Prop 37 California Right to Know campaign.

The effort is supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Western States Council, which has endorsed Proposition 37. “As a UFCW member and grocery worker, I support prop 37. I want to know what I am feeding my family. I’m appalled that a company like Walmart would sell Californians corn with insecticide built-in and refuse to tell us,” said Glen Raad, a grocery worker and UFCW member.

The two groups have bought advertisements online and in newspapers asking Ms. Mayer and Mr. Breyer to support Proposition 37, and they launched a website and an online petition at: www.MarissaAndJimTakeAStand.com

“Companies like Yahoo! and Facebook pride themselves on making it easier to share information. At the same time, Walmart refuses to give consumers basic information about what they’re buying,” said Eden.

Walmart, which sells roughly 25% of all groceries in the United States, announced this summer that they would begin to sell unlabeled genetically engineered sweet corn produced by Monsanto.

Monsanto claims the Bt toxins inside the corn will break down before the corn is eaten. Many have questioned the company’s safety claims and a number of major groceries have said they won’t sell the corn. Despite these concerns, Walmart is selling the product without a label indicating that it has been genetically engineered.

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, a California-based and family-owned maker of the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America, announced today that they have donated another $250,000 to Proposition 37, The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.

According to a press release announcing this from Dr. Bronner’s, “Prop. 37 has been losing support in voter polls due to the impact of relentless and deceptive TV attack ads funded by pesticide and junk food manufacturers. At the rate of at least a $1 million dollars a day the ads mislead voters into thinking that a simple labeling law is somehow a plot by trial lawyers to get rich while food prices sky rocket.”

“These same arguments against consumers’ right to know have been made against every previous labeling regulation such as calorie and allergen disclosure,” noted the release. “Despite being vastly outspent, the Yes on 37 campaign has demonstrated through internal polling that their simple ad reminding voters of their fundamental right to know what’s in their food cuts through the flak.”

“Chemical corporations are outspending consumer groups 10 to 1 in California, so we felt we had to step up with another major donation to ‘Yes on 37’,” said David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. “It’s wrong that American democracy is hijacked by pesticide manufacturers who spend vast sums of money to keep consumers in the dark. The opposition’s lies on TV will be answered this final crucial week before Election Day, while a huge grassroots surge reaches voters directly. If enough voters are reminded of their own rights and power, Prop. 37 can win.”

“Genetically engineered foods should have been labeled from the get-go in the 1990’s,” noted Bronner. “Pesticide companies genetically engineer DNA from bacteria into food crops to either produce or tolerate the pesticides they sell. Their business model is rapidly failing in the face of superweeds and superbugs resistant to their poisons. Pesticide companies like Monsanto and Dow are now doubling down and engineering resistance in food crops to much more toxic weed killers such as Dicamba and 2,4 D, the main ingredient in Agent Orange.”

Bronner added: “These pesticide companies have demonstrated they will spend any amount needed to keep the public in the dark about the secret changes they have made to our food. We have a right to know if our food has been genetically engineered, just as citizens in over 61 other countries do, including in Europe, Japan, even China. Prop 37 is just the beginning.”

Bronner said: “The writing is on the wall, win or lose we have sparked a movement. We will have the right to know in this country sooner versus later.”

We all have a right to know if the food we’re eating comes from nature or whether it was genetically engineered in a lab by companies like Monsanto and Dow. That’s why Proposition 37 is so important – it’s a label that gives us the right to know.

As my film The Future of Food describes, there are many reasons why people want and deserve the right to know about genetic engineering. That’s why I’m making my film available for free for public screenings from now until the election.

You can view the film for free, invite your friends to watch it, and read more about what you can do to pass Prop 37 here.

I encourage you to send this link to people you know who are on the fence about Prop 37, who don’t understand the incredibly high stakes in this battle to give consumers a choice about genetically engineered food.

I also encourage you to contribute to Yes on 37 in every way you can. Every dollar raised today will expand the television ad buy to get our message to voters. Donate to the ad fund here – and help us win the right to know what’s in our food!

You have probably seen something about “Proposition 37” or “Prop. 37”–whether it’s been on Facebook or Twitter or in The New York Times. Or perhaps you haven’t seen anything about it and, like me, you glaze over anytime there is some political something or other that seems too hard to figure out. Well, this one is easy…or let’s put it this way, I’m going to make it easy for you to understand.